АГРАРНЕ ПИТАННЯ ЯК ПОЛІТИЧНА ДОМІНАНТА МІЖВОЄННОЇ ПОЛЬЩІ

The article is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of the agrarian policy of the Second Polish Republic in the Western Ukrainian lands during the interwar period (1919–1939), inthe context of the implementation of the Polish colonization strategy. The author examines how the formally declared goals of land reform – elimination of large landownership, creation of independent farms, and reduction of agrarian overpopulation – were utilized by the Polish authorities to achieve political and national objectives. Special attention is given to the analysis of legislative acts from 1919, 1920, and 1925, which regulated the course of reforms, as well as their actual implementation in territories predominantly inhabited by Ukrainians. The study demonstrates that a key instrument of colonial policy was the system of military civilian settlement, which provided privileged conditions for Polish veterans and volunteers in the eastern parts of the state. These settlers received land free of charge, enjoyed financial benefits, and were actively involved in local administrative governance, thereby undermining the position of the indigenous Ukrainian peasantry. The creation of such settlements served not only economic but also clearly defined geopolitical purposes – functioning as a tool to consolidate Polish ethnic and political control over Ukrainian territories. The article also examines the legal mechanisms of discrimination: legislatively established unequal land ownership standards for different regions, restrictions on Ukrainians’ rights to acquire land, the predominantly voluntary nature of parcelling (which favored large landowners), and the role of the State Agricultural Bank, which primarily provided credit to wealthy Polish farms. Additionally, the speculative rise in land prices is analyzed, which made land acquisition impossible for land-poor and landless Ukrainian peasants. The agrarian policy of the Second Polish Republic is presented as a comprehensive set of measures aimed at colonizing the Western Ukrainian lands under the guise of a socio-economic reform. Rather than resolving the agrarian question, it deepened social and national tensions in the region. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the specifics of the national policy of interwar Poland, the social structure of the Western Ukrainian village, and the reasons for the growing protest potential among the Ukrainian peasantry during the interwar period.